Walking Buddha

[Swaminathan Madhuresan]

>         Oftentimes, the tirukkuRaL is misinterpreted. The expression
>         'malamicai Ekinaan' refers to 'reaching an exalted state'
>         and it does not mean 'walking on top of flower(/lotus)'.
>         Almost all gods are depicted either sitting or standing on
>         flowers.

  True, gods are sculpted as sitting and standing or sleeping.
  The walking style is rare, I know only of walking buddha statues
  from Sukhotai period Thailand, if we don't take trivikrama avatara
  as walking which Alvars say as "naDantAn2".


>         In Tamil 'malar' or simply 'poo' means the
>         'final stage' (beyond that one crosses and reaches to God's feet).
>         It is a standard spiritual expression in Tamil.

 This seems to refer to a devotee. OTOH, the kuRaL clearly refers
 to the God's attribute as One who walked on the flower.

 Thanks and kind regards,
 SM



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